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What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most typically misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2013 Toyota RAV4 is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in assorted disparate ways. It can say "Check Engine", it can be a symbol of an engine, it can even be a combination of both. This light illuminates in either an amber or red color and is part of the diagnostics system found on your vehicle. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored vehicle performance since the 80s and do a variety of things for your 2013 Toyota RAV4. Some of these include shifting automatic transmissions controlling engine speed, ignition timing, and implementing stability control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a assortment of distinct things. It can be as natural as your gas cap being loose or as stern as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2013 Toyota RAV4, contact Nalley Toyota of Roswell. Contact Nalley Toyota of Roswell today! Our Toyota service department can help you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or diagnose why your check engine light is shining.

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2013 Toyota RAV4?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as commonplace as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a visible problem that could cause visible damage to your engine and come with a admirable repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A consistent glow naturally means something less visible but a shining check engine light indicates that your vehicle’s engine is in visible trouble and service is needed instantly. If your check engine light is shining in your 2013 Toyota RAV4, we very recommend not to drive the vehicle and schedule Toyota service today. Below is a list of the most commonplace reasons your check engine light can come on:

  • Your 2013 Toyota RAV4 has a vacuum leak. Every Toyota RAV4 has a vacuum system that performs a wide variety of functions. The vacuum system also helps lower bad emissions by routing the fumes as gasoline evaporates through the engine. If you notice that your RPM is high in idle or randomly surges, a vacuum leak could be the cause. Over time, vacuum hoses can dry out and crack, hugely if they’re exposed to effective heat or extreme cold.
  • Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2013 Toyota RAV4’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's function is to turn the carbon monoxide created by the combustion process into carbon dioxide. A damaged catalytic converter is usually caused by neglected maintenance, which is why Nalley Toyota of Roswell offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every Toyota service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your 2013 Toyota RAV4 will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your car may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause added problems from overheating.
  • Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Toyota RAV4 is what determines how much fuel is necessary to run your engine efficiently by measuring the amount of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to certain changes, like altitude. If your Toyota RAV4 is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a swift change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a bad mass airflow sensor.
  • The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2013 Toyota RAV4 is every essential. Without a car battery, your car won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s car batteries last much longer than they did various decades ago, and they don't genuinely require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of Toyota you drive, but check our prevailing service coupons and specials.
  • Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or added item can wreak havoc on your 2013 Toyota RAV4 if it’s not installed properly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can drain the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even impede the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound normal, bring your RAV4 to Toyota and have our team of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed properly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, hugely aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts first place might cost a small bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
  • One of the most familiar and frequent cause is that your 2013 Toyota RAV4 gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2013 Toyota RAV4 serves multiple purposes. It prevents gas fumes from being released when you aren't driving, it seals the fuel system and helps maintain pressure within the fuel tank. What happens if you have a bad fuel cap? If your gas cap is long-established or has a ruptured seal, you can lose fuel through evaporation which will result in more trips to the pump. Luckily, to replace a gas cap isn't expensive. If your check engine light turns on shortly after you put gas in your 2013 Toyota RAV4, first thing you should check is to make confident the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
  • Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, known as the O2 sensor, measures the amount of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be less adequate when it comes to fuel economy. So what happens if I don’t replace your O2 sensor? A faulty sensor can not only affect your miles per gallon, but it can cause damage to your catalytic converter and your 2013 Toyota RAV4's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to opt for the correct mixture of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A bad O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.
  • New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are necessary for your 2013 Toyota RAV4. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel mixture in the combustion chamber of your vehicle. This explosion is what moves the pistons and makes the engine run. The spark plug wires deliver the spark from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. If your spark plugs or spark plug wires are bad or long-established, you will experience poor performance and reduced power. In various extreme cases, your engine will have trouble starting or continuing to run. Worn spark plugs and plug wires can cause clogged catalytic converter or damage to ignition coils and O2 sensors, main to more expensive repairs.

Is it safe to drive your 2013 Toyota RAV4 with the check engine light on?

This question is not highly pragmatic because it all depends on the severity of the issue. If the cause is a minor issue, such as a loose gas cap, it should be safe to drive. This is customarily indicated by a dependable glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the vehicle, it could be an indication of a more appalling problem. If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a appalling issue and it is recommended to service your Toyota RAV4 immediately. Call the veterans at Nalley Toyota of Roswell by dialing 7707637398 so you can describe the issues. Or lower your speed and bring your 2013 Toyota to our certified mechanics as soon as viable.

Check Engine Light Service 2013 Toyota RAV4

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Toyota RAV4 and suddenly, a yellow light flashes on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Toyota owners, your heart sinks a little because you have little idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the cost of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t mean you have to pull the car over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is recommended that you get your 2013 Toyota RAV4 checked as soon as attainable. Ignoring that warning could end up causing extensive damage to costly engine components.

When your 2013 Toyota RAV4's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electrical control system that it can’t small, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is typically labeled “check engine” or “service engine soon”, or the light may be nothing more than a picture of an engine, or a picture of the engine with the word “check.”

When the light turns on, the ECM stores an engine code or “trouble code” in its memory that identifies as the issue, whether it's a sensor or a failing engine part. This code is read with an electronic diagnose tool that is used by our Toyota auto repair mechanics at Nalley Toyota of Roswell. There are also a number of relatively low-priced code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you choose that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced professional to learn the issue and repair it.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2013 Toyota RAV4 will usually shut itself off if the issue or code that caused it to turn on is fixed. For example, if the cause of your check engine light coming on was a loose gas cap, if it's tightened, the light will turn itself off. Likewise, if your catalytic converter is going persuasive, and you did a lot of stop-and-go driving, that may have turned on the check engine light due to the high usage of the converter. In most cases, your 2013 Toyota RAV4 light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that reward and the light is still on, you will need to bring it in to Nalley Toyota of Roswell so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

How many miles can you drive with the check engine light?

Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is difficult to predict how bountiful miles you can drive with the warning light on. It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy accordingly. If you check engine light is flashing, we recommend that you pull over and contact Nalley Toyota of Roswell to help mean if your vehicle is safe to drive in or if we recommend a tow truck.

How much does it cost to get the engine light checked?

The average cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is constantly between $88 and $111. The legal news, Nalley Toyota of Roswell offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help mean the cause of your check engine light. The check engine light warns of issues ranging from a gas cap that's not accordingly tightened to a more perilous failure like a bad catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it legal to get the convenient code reading and diagnosis.

2013 Toyota RAV4 Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are copious potential causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are countless conscious causes encompassing something as noticeable as a loose gas cap. Other conscious reasons for a Check Engine Light are damaged oxygen sensor, dirty mass airflow sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, faulty emissions control part, faulty head gasket, or defective spark plugs to name a bit. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Toyota Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and repair it as needed to restore factory specifications. When this happens, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you can leave the service center knowing that your Toyota issue was fixed.

Every 2013 Toyota RAV4 was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its crucial systems. The sensors are commonly detecting conditions while sending data to the electronic control unit. If the electronic control unit detects that the data is out of factory specifications, the Check Engine Light illuminates telling you that there is a problem. However, that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what precisely is erroneous nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Nalley Toyota of Roswell provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Exceedingly Qualified Service professional.

2013 Toyota RAV4 Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your 2013 Toyota RAV4 starts flashing, that means that the problem needs sudden attention and your Toyota should be brought in shortly. A flashing light indicates that the problem is perilous and if not taken care of shortly may result in tall damage to the vehicle. This blinking light normally indicates a active engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be drained into the exhaust system. There it can immediately raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is convenient, requiring an expensive repair. A Bit owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can absolutely be the cause. A bad, common or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If the problem is ignored or you continue to drive, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a particularly lavish repair. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our team of automotive experts at Nalley Toyota of Roswell today by calling 7707637398.

2013 Toyota RAV4 Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that little light on your vehicle’s dashboard suddenly illuminates, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear prudent away. If you hear the term, diagnostic trouble codes (DTC), these are just another name for check engine light codes. These are automotive computer codes stored by the ECM, also established as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your RAV4. There are hundreds of hopeful codes that your check engine light can imply. While that sounds daunting, with some patience, tackling best diagnostics will give you fitting knowledge about your car and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is really supposed to do: be your guide. Regrettably, accessible and satisfactory car symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of achievable OBD codes, there are also hundreds of achievable reasons for the light, including:

  • O2 Sensor
  • Ignition system faults
  • Emissions controls issues
  • Bad Spark Plugs
  • Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
  • Computer output circuit issues
  • Old Battery
  • Fuel and air metering systems problems
  • Transmission issues

This is why it is draconian for someone who does not have a lot of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out swiftly by a certified Toyota mechanic. If the engine light comes on due to a applicable concern, you risk detrimental your car further by not repairing the issue proper away. Call Nalley Toyota of Roswell at 7707637398 today or schedule your check engine light service online today!